Review: The Imitation Game

The Imitation Game

Director: Morten Tydlum

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Mark Strong, Charles Dance.

Running Time: 114 mins.

You’d be forgiven for having the assumption that The Imitation Game would be a straight up espionage thriller in light of the subject matter. This assumption, however, would be both right and wrong. The Imitation Game focuses on, until recently, unsung war hero and mathematical genius Alan Turing (Cumberbatch, who is making the role of a socially awkward genius entirely his own!), whose work on tackling the German Enigma code swung the pendulum in the favour of the allies during the Second World War. This is not a subject that has remained untouched in cinema with Michael Apted’s Enigma being released in 2001, however it was largely criticised for its highly fictitious approach to what is a fascinating subject.

It would be easy for The Imitation Game to follow a tried and tested, linear approach as seen in many a spy film over the years, and chances are it may have been a moderately successful, if not a very refreshing film.

It also could have easily slipped into a post-Downton, tea drinking, posh talking, and polite piece of filmmaking, furiously cramming the Union Jack down the audience’s throats; however with Norwegian Tydlum at the helm; he brings a realistic approach to wartime Britain and catches the period perfectly, and is not a million miles away from his last film, Headhunters. Coincidentally, it’s not the first time that a Scandinavian film director has taken charge on a spy thriller with an inherently British sensibility with Tomas Alfredson’s excellent Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), ironically also starring Cumberbatch as a closeted homosexual. TTSP however was about as far away from a British stereotype as you can get, with a dark, gritty, uncomfortable edge surrounding the entire film.

Here’s where The Imitation Game, sets itself apart from your average espionage flick. Whilst it manages this expertly with its tale of cracking the mysterious enigma code, it also focuses on the internal struggles facing Turing, battling with his own identity within a society that would otherwise have cast him as a criminal. Edited in a non-linear fashion it focuses on three periods of Turing life; his education at a boarding school, his employment and work on the Turing machine during the Second World War and finally (or firstly in this case), his life after the war had ended.

It also goes beyond that by asking the bigger questions, others may have overlooked. In one of the more emotional scenes Turing and his group must decide which deciphered Nazi attacks they are to intercept, resulting in the potential cost of thousands of lives. It is an emotionally poignant moment focusing on the fragility and responsibility of greater power and the greater good, an aspect that would be very easy to overlook.

The performances are also a blessing. It’s common knowledge now that this is Cumberbatch’s film, and he is the stand out performance, however it’s the supporting cast that provides the biggest surprises. Solid support is provided by the always trustworthy Matthew Goode and Mark Strong, and Charles Dance brings his grizzly authority from Game of Thrones into the preceding. However the most pleasing surprise goes to Kiera Knightley who manages to go beyond the irritating, prim and posh young lady of Pirates of the Caribbean we’re all used to and brings humanity and heart into the story.

This all comes together to form one an edgy, yet simultaneously, emotional thriller, one of the best of the year so far. Granted it may not be one of the most historically accurate films ever, and certain aspects of Turing’s life are skimmed over, but this is a minor blot on what is an impressive step up from Tydlum and a career highlight from Cumberbatch (so far).